Hood for type-writing machines and the like.



M. W. POTTER.

Hoon 90N TYPE WRITING MACHINES AND THB LIKE.

APPLICATION FILED MAR.15, 1913.

Patented June 2, 1914.

MILTON WILLIAM POTTER,

HOOD FOR TYPE-WRITING MACHINES AND THE LIKE.

Specification of Letters latent.

Patented June 2, 1914.

Application led March 15, 1913. Serial No. 754,515.

To all whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, MILTON W. Perron, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of Red Lodge, in the county of Carbon and State of Montana, have invented a new and Improved Hood for Type-Writing Machines and the like, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

My invention relates to a collapsible hood to constitute a protective cover for typewriting machines, adding machines and the like, and particularly to a hood comprising a flexible covering, and a framework includ ing a series of separate foldable bows to maintain the cover in distended form, or to collapse the cover.

It is a design of my invention to provide for causing the bows to fold toward each other in succession, and to separate in succession in the reverse order from the collapsing; and to prevent the cover from sagging before being swung clear of the machine, whereby the cover will be prevented from catching in parts of the machine, or contacting With the same.

It is a further design of my invention to provide a hood of the indicated character in which a typewriter may be readily placed and correctly positioned, and in which there will be no metallic parts beneath the keyboard such as would increase the metallic sound. y

1t is also a design of my invention to im prove in various particulars, devices of the general character indicated, to the end that eiiiciency and convenience may be promoted, as well as economy of manufacture and simplicity.

The invention will be articularly explained in the specific description following.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this speciication, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view' of a hood embodying my invention, showing the same in unfolded .or distended form as when placed `over the machine; Fig. 2 is a transverse vertical section, the cover of the machine being indicated in dotted lines; Fig. 3 is a detail side elevation showing the hinge connection between the frame members and bows; and Fig. 4 is a detail cross section on the line 4 4 of Fig. 3.

In forming a hood embodying my invention, a base 10 is provided, preferably in the formof a plate made from sheet nietal, and provided with a gage 1l surrounded on three sides by a flange 11, which is returnbent as at 11b, for strength, and to'present no sharp edges, the gage being so located as to position the machine centrally on the base .10. To the sides of the base 10, a rear frame 1s secured, having side arms 12 to which are hinged by pivot bolts 13, or their equivalent, the side arms 14 of a front frame. The arms 12 and 14 are formed respectively with hinge members 12, 14, preferably 'in the form of disk-like extensions, and said side arms are Joined at their outer ends by cross bars 12b, 14, respectively. The cross bar 14b may be 1n the foim of a bow extending around the sides as at 14 and properly secured to the frame arms 14.

.A series of separate bows 15, 16, 17, are pivoted at their ends by the hinge bolts 13 that unite the frame arms 12 and 14, and a cover 18 of cloth, sheet rubber, or any other suitable material covers the bows and frames. Desirably the cover 18 is made detachable, for which purpose it may be provided with holes 19, preferably having gromets, around the edges along the several sides adapted to be passed over lateral studs or buttons 20 on the front and rear frames.

To produce friction between the hinge members 12a, 14a, a curved plate spring 22 is oriiced to pass over the inner end of each hinge bolt 13, and nuts 13a on said bolts regulate the tension of said springs to produce the desired frictional engagement between the hinge members. One disk member, here shown as 14a, is formed with an. orifice 23 near the edge thereof, and a corre sponding protuberance 24 is produced on the companion hinge member 12n and so located thereon that when the frame arms 12 and 14 are opened to distend the cover 18, the said protuberance will spring into the said orifice and hold the hood in erect forni and prevent its collapsing.

The cross bar 14b of the front frame is provided with a spring catch 14l to engage under the base of the machine. Additional protuberances 25, 26, 27, are produced on the hinge members adjacent to which lie the ends of the several bows, and so located that when the cover is distended and the bows in erect position, each bow will be frictionally engaged by its respective protuberances, so

that the frictional engagement with each bow will be successively and separately overcome in the collapsing and distending movements. Thus the rearmost or back bow, n umbered 17 lies close against a face of the hinge member 14, as best seen in Fig. 3, and 1s adapted, when in the raised position, to be rictionally engaged by its protuberance 25. '.lhe intermediate bow 16 has its extreme ends 16 continued beyond the pivot b olts 13, and said ends are offset inwardly into the plane of the bow 17, to he close agalnst the hinge member 14, and when 1n the raised position to be engaged by the protuberance 26. The front bow 15 similarly has a curved arm 15 extending from a side edge thereof and oiiset inwardly to lie close against the hinge member, and when in the raised position to be engaged by the protubera-nce 27.

By the described construction, when the front frame is raised and moved on the hinge connection, the engagement of the rotuberances 25, 26, 27, with the respective bows will cause the bows to turn on the hinge pins 13 without movement relativel to each other or relatively to the front ame arms 14, and the Vhood will be maintained in distended form from the back bow 17 to the front frame, only the portion of the cover between the back bow and the rear frame collapsing until the back bow is brought to the lowered position, and its further downward movement arrested, whereupon the resistance will overcome the frictional engages ment between the said back bow and the protuberance 25, and the continued upward and rearward movement of the front frame will next collapse that portion ofthe cover between the now lowered back bow and the intermediate bow 16. The portions of the cover between the intermediate bow and the front bow` 15, and betweenthe front bow and the front arms 14 collapse in succession as the bows successively are arrested, and the frictional engagement with their respective studs 26, 27, is overcome in succession.

It will thus beseen that successive sections or divisions of the cover collapse inwardly only after having passed over the machine and to the back thereof, and 4will thus be prevented from catching on the machine. Similarly, when the hood is closed by raising the collapsed frame and bows, the front frame member 14 will first rise and pull upward on the cover 18. The Weight of the bows will maintain them in the lowered position, and tend to cause them to be raised in succession, -beginning with the front bow, and the cover between the bows will be distended or partly distended before passing upward over themachine.

By disposin the base 10 on the rear frame and locating t e gage 11 thereon, the typewriter or other machine shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2 and indicated by the letter A, will have the keyboard thereof in front of the base 10 and therefore the latter will not increase the sounds produced in the operation of the ke s. To prevent marring of the surface of t e desk or table on which the base is located,the latter may have any .protective covering 10a at the under side, as indicated in Fig. 3.

It will be observed from the sectional view (Fig. 2), that the bows are concavoconvex in cross section to provide strength and enable me to form the bows of light bar metal. I am thus enabled to produce a light and convenient hood that will effectively exclude dust, and which may be collapsed into small compass entirely out of the way of the machine when not in the erect position.

It will be seen that the hinge bolts4 13 forming the centen' of movement of the frame parts and bows are above the bottom of the hood 18, and the latter is formed with vertical slits 18 extending from the bottom edges at the sides upwardly to a point adjacent to the center of movement, to permit the cover to accommodate itself to the movements ofthe parts.

Having thus described my invention I Y claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. A hood for typewriting and other machines, comprising a base frame consisting of front and rear sections hinged together, the rear section forming a seat for the machine, a series of bows pivoted to the hinge sections and having the same center of movement as the latter, a cover over saidY base sections and bows, a spring common to the hinge sections and bows and exerting tension between the hinge sections and between one hinge section and the bows, and separate friction elements on the 'front section of the base frame and on the individual bows.

2. In a hood for typewriting and other machines, a base frame consisting of front and rear sections, the rear section forming a seat for the machine, said sections having hinge members, pivot bolts extending through said sections, a spring on said bolts to exert spring pressure on said members, and a series of bows also pivoted by the said bolts, one of the hinge members having .spaced members eo-acting with the several bows to engage the latter in the open position of the bows and effect separate frictional engagement therewith.

3. In a hood for typewriting` and other machines, a base frame comprising front and rear sections formed with hinge members, pivots passing through said hinge members, means for exerting pressure between said members, and a series of bows also pivotally secured by said pivots, one of the hinge members having series of spaced protuberances corresponding with the open position lli of the bows and the several bows having respectively members movable into frictlonal engagement with said protuberances.

4. In a hood for typewriting and other machines, a base frame comprising front and rear sections` formed with hinge memb ers, pivots passing through said hinge sectlons, means for exerting pressure between said members, and a series of bows also pivotally secured by said pivots, one of the hinge members having series of spaced protuberances correspondlng with the open position of the bows and the several bows having respectively members movable into fric-` tion engagement with said protuberances, one of the 4hinge members having an orifice and the other having a projection adapted to enter said orioe when the sections are in the open position.

5. In a device of the character described, a base frame comprising front and rear sections having pivotally connected hinge elements and bows, all of which are pivoted by the pivot of said hinge elements, one of the hinge elements having individual spaced friction elements positioned to engage certain of the said bows, and the other hinge chines, comprising a base consisting of front and rear sections pivotcd together at the sides, and a series of bows pivoted by the same pivots as the base sections to have the same center of movement, there being friction elements on said front and rear sections laterally disposed and positioned to individually and separately engage the bows, one of the bows havingY its pivoted end extended beyond the pivot in the form of an arm movable into contact with the respective friction element on one base section, and another of said bows having adjacent tov the pivot thereof, a curved arm movable into contact with its respective friction element on the other base section.

In testimony whereof kI have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

MILTON WILLIAM POTTER.

Witnesses:

W. A. TALMAGE, VKARL EnMoNns. 

